Ty Herndon

Ty Herndon topped the Billboard Country with "What Mattered Most," the inspirational ballad that was his debut single in 1995. Over the next few years, he was a regular presence in the Country Top Ten. His earnest delivery was a good match for the kind of streamlined country he sang -- music that didn't shun tradition but was aligned with the anthemic, rock-influenced arena-country pioneered by Garth Brooks at the dawn of the '90s. Herndon's hot streak quickly cooled after "Hands of a Working Man" reached number five in 1999, and his career entered a bumpy period that lasted f...